撫州曹山元證禪師語錄 1.5

1.5

The Master's taboo name was Benji. He was a son of the Huang family of Putian in Quanzhou. In his youth he studied Confucianism, and at the age of nineteen he went to Lingshi in Fuzhou to leave home. At twenty-five he received the precepts, and soon after visited Dongshan. Dongshan asked, 'What is the ācārya's name?' The Master said, 'Benji.' Dongshan said, 'Speak further of the higher matter.' The Master said, 'I will not speak.' Dongshan said, 'Why will you not speak?' The Master said, 'It is not named Benji.' Dongshan regarded him highly as a vessel of the Dharma. From then on he entered [Dongshan's] room, remaining for several years. When he took his leave to depart, Dongshan secretly transmitted to him the essential teachings of Dongshan. Dongshan further asked, 'Where are you going?' The Master said, 'To the unchanging place.' Dongshan said, 'Can there be any going to the unchanging place?' The Master said, 'Going, too, is unchanging.' Thereupon he went to Caoxi to pay homage to the ancestral pagoda. When he returned to Jishui, the assembly looked up to the Master's reputation and invited him to inaugurate teachings. The Master cherished his aspiration for the Sixth Patriarch, and so named the mountain Cao. Soon after, meeting with bandit turmoil, he went to Yihuang. There was a faithful layman named Wang Ruoyi who gave up the Hewang Monastery and invited the Master to serve as abbot. The Master changed 'Hewang' to 'Heyu'. From this, the Dharma assembly greatly flourished, students gathered like clouds, and the school of Dongshan reached its height under the Master.